UAW Endorses Mamdani, Lander and Ramos for Mayor – And Urges Voters to Not Rank Eric Adams At All

Mayoral candidates Comptroller Brad Lander, State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani. -Photo by Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

Unusual and early ranked-choice ballot recommendation from diverse membership aims to elevate progressive candidates in a growing field looking to oust the embattled incumbent.

This Article originally appeared in The City.

By Claudia Irizarry Aponte

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NEW YORK - The union representing thousands of New York’s public defenders, museum staff and academics on Wednesday endorsed a trio of left-leaning Democratic mayoral primary candidates — and explicitly called on its members and the public to not rank Eric Adams on their ballots.

United Auto Workers Region 9A unanimously endorsed Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens), City Comptroller Brad Lander and state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) on Wednesday, hailing them as “outspoken champions” of their union with a clear “working-class agenda,” said Region 9A director Brandon Mancilla.

All three candidates have worked closely with the union on issues spanning housing, student loan forgiveness and criminal justice reform. And all three candidates, noted Mancilla, have walked the picket line alongside UAW members at a half-dozen locals within the city as recently as this week.

“We want candidates who are going to be very strongly aligned with protecting collective bargaining, protecting the rights of union members, free speech,” said Jane Fox, who chairs the Legal Aid Society Attorneys union with UAW Local 2325. “These are the folks who have shown up to support us and to support the UAW, and that is tremendously significant to our members.”  

The endorsement comes with an “explicit instruction not to rank Eric Adams for Mayor,” the union wrote in its announcement, citing cuts to 3-K programs, and “skyrocketing” rent and cost of living as motivating factors.

UAW Region 9A spans locals across New England, New York City and Puerto Rico representing workers in a wide swath of industries, from auto dealerships to legal services and higher education. Wednesday’s mayoral endorsement was vetted only by members of the region’s New York City locals. 

The selection marked the first under a new process granting rank-and-file members greater say over endorsement decisions. For the last two months, Region 9A’s New York City locals surveyed their own members for their priorities ahead of the 2025 primary, crafted candidate questionnaires and held candidate interview forums open to each local’s entire membership.

The union’s 50-question candidate survey, which was reviewed by THE CITY, asked candidates to articulate their vision for the city on issues of rent, affordability and tax reform. But it also dedicated a great deal to issues close to the rank and file, such as the candidate’s plan for closing the jails on Rikers Island, ending solitary confinement, funding for cultural institutions and support for New Yorkers facing eviction.

Among the union’s other questions: If they do not own a UAW-made car, “will you commit to purchasing a UAW car or truck for your next vehicle?”

Both Lander and Mamdani said in separate statements that they are “honored” to receive the union’s early support, and hailed their and the union’s shared vision for affordability, protecting workers’ rights and preventing evictions.

“With a billionaire scab returning to the White House, our city must become a model for addressing the material needs of working people: freezing the rent, making buses free, and implementing universal childcare for every family,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Let’s get to work.”

“I’m grateful for the bold work the UAW is doing on behalf of workers under their new national and regional leadership and excited to partner with them to bring the change that working New Yorkers urgently need to City Hall,” Lander said in a statement.

In a phone call with THE CITY, Ramos said she is “grateful” for the union’s endorsement. “As their mayor, they’ll have a champion for working families that, like them, is concerned about the affordability in our city.” She said she would also not rank Eric Adams on her ballot, but stopped short of saying whether she would rank Lander or Mamdani.

“I’ll have to see what kind of campaign they wage,” she said.

On Monday, days before the union’s endorsement vote, Ramos, Mamdani and Lander all attended a walkout by Mercedes-Benz auto mechanics in Manhattan who walked off the job in protest of management’s “anti-union behavior.” Workers at the dealership won their union in May and have yet to reach an agreement on a first contract.

In declining to immediately rank their chosen candidates, the union leaves the door open to adjust its endorsement as the primary runs its course over the next seven months. The key message to members and voters, said Mancilla, is to not only oust Adams but to elect candidates who are best positioned to “make changes that work for working people.”

“If the priority is to defeat Eric Adams, then there’s also the possibility of candidates being able to unite around a common platform and then letting the voters decide which one of the individual candidates is actually the best suited for the job,” said Mancilla. “But the message is clear: Reject Eric Adams.”  

“If you don’t like how the last four years have gone. If you’re upset about the corruption, if you’re upset about his inability to address key issues in our city that make life unbearable and very difficult, then you know this, these are the folks that are coming forward to try to change that."